Imagine a new kind of building that physically embraces the forces of nature and, much like a wind chime, accepts the wind as its artist’s final design element. David Fisher is the visionary architect behind the Dynamic Tower. His design creates a building facade that is constantly changing.

A snapshot in time will never catch the dynamics of this building where each floor rotates independently at a different speed.

A new paradigm for the building of a new home on a teardown lot has recently been introduced by a company called LivingHomes. This company brings prefabricated parts of the new home to the construction site and fits them together as if they were large Lego blocks.

As the modules near completion the preparation of the construction site begins. The house in the illustration was basically erected on April 13, 2006.

The modern elevator story began in 1852 with Elisha Otis’s invention of a safety mechanism that stopped elevators from falling. To take passengers on a half mile- high elevator ride in the Burj Khalifa skyscraper, the Otis Elevator Company had to build a lift system with a 100-ton capacity.

Without a major breakthrough, elevators have reached their height limits because longer cables will break under their own weight. At this time, the construction industry is evaluating KONE Ultra-Rope™ which is a carbon fiber replacement for the steel elevator skyscraper cables.

Today, the wood elements of a structure are generally held together by metal nails and staples. Gluing as a method of holding any part of the structure together is minimal because it takes too long for glues to dry and form a strong bond.
A new bonding material has recently been developed for use in the construction of prefabricated housing. It is an adhesive that, in 60 seconds, goes from a solid to a liquid and then on to form a full bond when it is activated by an electrical current.

Just like the ancient Greeks and Romans did centuries ago modern architects are now pushing beyond what seems possible. In Dubai, an Emirate of the United Arab Emirates, the Water Discus Hotel will have guest rooms located 33 feet below the surface of the water. In Shanghai China the Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental Hotel will also have rooms underwater. Even more extraordinary this amazing construction project shows that it is possible to turn an old abandoned rock quarry into a tourist paradise. The full story is only one click away.

This new Tappan Zee Bridge is just beginning to rise from the water of the Hudson River. This column describes the engineering and construction technologies being used to build this new bridge. These bridges will withstand the forces of nature that are now slowly ripping apart the 60 year old Tappan Zee bridge that it will soon replace.
To build a structurally sound bridge, this time, engineers needed to reach the bedrock which is 300 feet below the water and covered by hundreds of feet of silt. The new twin Bridges will have a dampening system that will allow them to withstand the motion of an earthquake if, perhaps when, the Ramapo seismic zone decides to give them a major shake. The full story is fascinating.

Modern elevators are pulled up and lowered down by very strong cables. To design and build a mile high building you need to eliminate the current cable system because cables that long are too heavy.
ThyssenKrupp engineers decided to get rid of the cable that lifts and lowers an elevator in its shaft. To accomplish this task they adapted the magnetic levitation system that they had designed to levitate their Transrapid high speed Maglev monorail trains. They repurposed this maglev system so it could work in an elevator shaft. For the complete story click the link below.

Walabot is a new product that works with your smartphone and lets you see the plumbing and wiring that is hidden inside your walls. It works with a Walabot free app.
Wallabot emits radio waves into your concrete or dry wall. It has multiple antennas to receive the information that bounces back from the objects that it finds in your wall. The technology behind this device is already being used by the military, homeland security, and in new medical devices. This column describes it all.

Walabot Can See Into Walls(Published January 2017 in TechDirections Magazine)

Some of Elon Musk’s projects seemed impossible when he first proposed them, but none of his ideas have ever been boring. His Boring Company is a play on words where the name of the company sums up what this company will do; that is bore tunnels to move new transportation systems underground.
It is no accident that Godit, the new boring machine that his engineering teams have created (see photo 3 and 4), actually bore tunnels that are the exact size needed for the hyperloop’s giant tubes. You need more information on Hyperloop just click the crowd in a tube photo which appeared as photo 3 in the Hyperloop story..

Hudson Yards is a 20 billion mega construction project that is now under construction in NYC. At the center of this 21st century mini city, in an open to the public 5 acre park like setting, they are now building the structure shown in photo 2.
It is not a building and has no stores. It is an observation tower that will become a NYC landmark for tourists and New Yorkers to visit. Vessel is designed as interactive art for people to climb. Since Vessel has no floors to anchor its staircases, it is a unique construction project.
Vessel has been designed so it will look like it defies gravity. It will have a relatively small footprint at its foundation. From this base diameter each level spirals a little further out as its staircases and landings climb 16 stories into the air. For the full story with video links just click below for the TechDirections PDF.